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One of our unique characteristics, which is not found in any other country, is that the opposition is considered to be ‘sacrosanct and beyond criticism’.
Whenever you attempt to criticise the opposition, or a politician from the opposition, you are immediately accused of undermining the opposition, of being an enemy of the main opposition party, CTP, and even of being an enemy of CTP’s leader, Tufan Erhürman.
This has happened to me many times.
As a journalist and a citizen, I have never held back when I saw things that needed to be criticised; for this, I have been accused of helping the government, of being an enemy of the opposition. I have even been subjected to serious lynching that lasted for days.
That is why I am prepared for such reactions while writing this critical article. If you are among those who read, like, or share it, I am telling you to be prepared as well.
Because tomorrow, we will be blamed for the opposition’s failure to win an election, or for the demise of its reputation.
They will never engage in self-reflection and will instead blame those who criticise them.
We are well prepared for that too.
This time, we will not try to defend ourselves by saying, “No, we are not enemies of anyone, we respect and love Erhürman, and we will support the CTP when necessary.”
Because we do not need to defend ourselves.
***
The so-called Külliye, an illegal monstrosity of a building with no building permit and no connection to our history, which houses the Legislative and Executive branches and a mosque, has now been expanded to include the Judiciary.
Months ago, we pointed out that this structure violates the principle of the separation of powers in form, and we criticised the President of the Supreme Court, Bertan Özerdağ, who supported this project, asking how the Judiciary could remain independent in a building constructed by AKP.
All circles remained silent, and the opposition turned a blind eye to this looming disaster.
And in the meanwhile, everyone was repeating the same words: “Let’s not undermine the judiciary.”
***
The public’s greatest expectation from the opposition is the ability and courage to take a different stance and show a different attitude than those in power.
You cannot stand side by side with the government officials who are destroying the society, pray with open hands, act the same way, and then say, “I am different.”
Criticising the incident after the fact does not make you different.
***
When you are part of a mistake, you do not call it a mistake, but the moment you get out of the situation, you declare, “It was a mistake.”
In other words, not only are you not able to prevent anything but also you do not have the courage to make a move to prevent it.
And then you promise to be the hope of this country.
No one expects the opposition to have the ability to prevent everything; they expect it to take action, make an effort, and put up a fight.
But they are not even able to see that.
***
The same goes for the President of the Supreme Court.
Can any citizen in this country construct a building illegally, without a permit?
Let’s say they did it. Can a person at the highest level of the judiciary lay the foundation of that building?
And do so with an imam reciting the Fatiha.
This is what the society expects:
“What I cannot do, state officials should not be able to do either; that is equality,” they say.
Or, is everything allowed for the state but not allowed for the citizens?
***
The CTP, in order not to ‘wear down’ its presidential candidate, did not allow him to take the lead in any action, did not allow him to be the first to speak out against any kind of pressure, did not let him consolidate any kind of social opposition, and even made sure that his social media posts ‘do not take it too far.’
This was expressed by the CTP leadership itself and also repeated by CTP members.
So what happened yesterday, after you protected him?
The elephant in the room could not be hid.
Now the attacks to blame the society have begun.
***
You know, it is always the same excuses.
“We acted responsibly as politicians”, “Creating chaos is in no one’s interest”, “Those who criticise the judiciary are undermining it”, “You are the ones causing the real damage”…
In other words, the demands of society—”I expect leadership from my leader, I expect a response, I expect action, I expect the consolidation of social opposition, I expect my rights to be protected, I expect immediate action…”—are met with hostility as if they are unfair expectations.
This defence goes so far as to make society question itself, turning into an attack.
It makes citizens ask themselves, “Am I expecting too much?”
***
No, sir!
You are not expecting too much.
You want to see the difference between orange and green, blue and red.
No one has the right to keep you awake and unhappy until dawn, to crush your hopes!
***
You don’t want to hear, “Just elect me and everything will be fine,” you want something that will prove this before the election, something that will give you hope.
You say, “Don’t leave everything for after you take office”…
But no.
We are exposed to statements such as, “Vote for me first, I’ll take care of the rest.”
It is presented to us as if it is impossible to react, fight, or stand up without creating chaos.
Furthermore, chaos is portrayed as something very bad, and it is made to seem as if it is possible to win without taking to the streets, or putting up a fight.
***
The list of those who ‘accuse’ others for criticising the opposition and having expectations from it goes on and on.
The accused are always citizens, always journalists.
No one apologises, no one resigns.
No one has ever witnessed anyone paying the price of their mistakes in this country.
A fear is instilled in society with the notion that, “if we wear him down, who are we going to be left with?”
We are made to feel that we need those who are singled out, that they are our saviours…
***
The society does not need politicians.
It fights its own battles.
Someone will surely emerge as victorious from those battles.
This was demonstrated when tens of thousands took to the streets the other day.
As always, it was not the opposition but the citizens who consolidated the process.
They demonstrated their strength and defended their will.
***
What I am trying to say is, do not hesitate to speak your mind.
Do not be afraid of being labelled.
Just as you would not hesitate to support those who learn from their mistakes and act sincerely…
This article was originally published on 11.04.2025
Source: ARE YOU READY TO BE DECLARED AN ‘ENEMY OF CTP’ AND ACCUSED OF ‘UNDERMINING THE OPPOSITION’?
